Milford Township
Milford was among the first townships to transact
business in the county. It was made a civil organization
in 1858, and derived its name from the mill built at the
fording place over the Minnesota River. The earlier
records of the town have been lost, due partly to the
confusion at the time of the Indian outbreak; more than
fifty were massacred within this township in 1862. It
was in this township that Brown County had its first
settlement. The first white settler either in this
township or Brown County was Edward McCole, who came in
from Nicollet County in 1853; his cabin was burned and
his claim was "jumped" by Anton Kaus. This land later
formed a part of the Col. William Pfaender farm. The
next settlers were the first lot of German colonists
from Chicago, in the fall of 1854; an account of their
wanderings and final settlement is presented in another
chapter. The early history of New Ulm and Milford
Township are almost one and the same story. Among those
hardy pioneers are easily recalled the names of Ludwig
Meyer, Anton and Athanasius Henle, Peter Mack and David
Haeberle.
This township is bounded on the north by the Minnesota
River, on the west by Home Township, on the south by
Sigel Township. It was adjoining the Indian reservation,
and suffered great loss during the Indian outbreak in
the summer of 1862, when more persons were killed than
in any other part of Brown County. The population of
Milford in 1910 was four hundred and eighty. The first
post office in the county was established here, with
Anton Kaus as postmaster; but in 1857 it was removed to
New Ulm. Milford post office, proper, was established in
1860, with Anton Henle as postmaster; he held it many
years. In 1857 he opened a country hotel, or in, which
he conducted until about 1880. The first death was
Martin Wiedemann, of consumption, in February, 1855.
The first birth in the township was in the spring of
1855, a daughter born to Benedict Drexler and wife. The
earliest religious services were those conducted by
Father Winninger in 1856. The first school was taught at
the house of Anton Henle in the spring of 1857.
Milford is among the wealthy townships in the county,
and has a history interwoven with that of the city of
New Ulm. Many of the older farmers have retired in the
city and make the best of citizens and believe in
improvement, whether in country or city.
Village of
Essig
Essig is the only hamlet within the township. It is
situated in the western part of the township in section
19.
It is a station on the Chicago & Northwestern railway,
and has schools, churches and limited commercial
interests, and is a great convenience to the surrounding
country. The population is about one hundred. The postal
business in the last fiscal year was only three hundred
and thirty-eight dollars. There are two Indian
monuments, one within two and another in three miles of
Essig, erected by the community, commemorating the
Indian War of 1862. The public school is a half mile out
of the village. The German Lutheran people have a
society here and now hold services every other Sunday.
Essig Business
Directory, May, 1916
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Bank
Emil Hage, president
Coal
Herman Schroeder
Creamery
Essig Creamery Company
General Merchandise Store
W. C. Heiman, who is also postmaster
Hardware Store
Andrew Wagner
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Implements
J. J. Kemkes
Lumber
Lampert Lumber Company, William Merto, manager
Produce and Stock Buyer
Herman Schroeder
Roller Mills
Eagle Roller Mills, by Herman Elbrecht
Grain elevator with Herman Schroeder as manager
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Brown County |Minnesota
AHGP
Source: History of Brown County,
Minnesota, L. A. Fritsche, M.D., Editor, Volume I, 1916.
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